Beams (CD)

Matthew Dear

Amoeba Review

Matthew Dear’s latest album continues the streak of dance noir that reached its pinnacle on 2010’s Black City with his new album, Beams. Dear sounds confident in his dark disco sound, spinning out nasty jams like “Earthforms” and “Fighting is Futile” with grace. Particularly grabbing is opener “Her Fantasy,” in which Dear’s toneless vocal deadpans through a forest of lush syncopated electronics, singing navelgazing lines like “Do I feel love like all of the others or this feeling only mine?” which take a second to unravel. The way Dear gets off his ass halfway through and sounds suddenly passionate surprises and feels revelatory. Dear also shows an affinity for the affecting techno-ballad on Beams on “Ahead of Myself,” a sprightly diversion from the rest of the album that could nestle itself on nearly any end-of-summer mixtape. Remarkably paced and consistently rewarding while never overwrought, Beams is just the latest notch in the pole for the electronic pop artist.